Disasters - a growing problem around the world.It's a fact - disasters are on the rise around the world. According to one estimate, the 1990s saw a tripling of disasters and a nine-fold increase in economic costs when compared with the 1960s. Climate change,earthquake,floods,storm increasing concentrations of people in vulnerable areas, and political and economic instability are all contributing factors.
The challenge is - how do we deal with this growing dilemma?

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Mumbai: Five commuters died on Saturday following injuries sustained in railway mishaps, according to the government railway police (GRP). The number of accidental deaths on the railways had crossed 2,550 till September this year, with more cases being reported on the Central line than on the Western line.

Jagbahadur Meher, a senior citizen, was knocked down by a Harbour local while crossing the tracks near Airoli station around 7am. Dhanji Maro (26) was knocked down by a train near Mahalaxmi station around 5pm. Around 11.35pm, Sanjay Ravat (20), a resident of Ambewadi, was killed while crossing the tracks near Cotton Green station. Two other mishap victims succumbed to injuries on Saturday. Habib Moghal(36) had fallen off a crowded train at Govandi on the Harbour line a few days earlier. Moghal, a resident of Kamla Nagar, was pronounced dead by doctors on Saturday. Balu Patil (42), who had fallen off a running local at Karjat, succumbed to his injuries in hospital on Saturday. The railways have been undertaking measures to curb deaths on tracks. Railway protection force (RPF) personnel on the Central line, for instance, have been organizing lectures in schools and colleges to discourage students from performing stunts or leaning out of running locals. Pamphlets with graphic images of accident victims are being circulated among students. On the Western line, the RPF had conducted a study and found out which locations were more prone to accidents due to line-crossing and at what time. A list of 10 locations has been drawn up and personnel are posted there to discourage trespassing.